By Jerry Choong
SHAH ALAM, Sept 2 — All Malaysian institutions, agencies and government ministries must act in tandem to stamp out corruption from taking further root, said the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center)
To do so, the C4 Center urged for all corruption cases to be fast-tracked and deliberated in trials without delay, the establishment of special anti-corruption courts, as well as provide judges with specialised training to preside over complex corruption cases.
“The government should also fast-track anti-corruption reforms and establish independent institutions, as per the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP),” it said in a statement.
The centre also commended the judiciary over the recent bold decisions to convict former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the SRC International scandal, and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor for offences related to corruption.
“We commend the judiciary for asserting that corruption is a heinous crime, and for holding power to account. These decisions by the judiciary have reaffirmed the rule of law and that it prevails against those that only seek to serve their self-interests.
“It should serve as a rallying call for the government to reform the corrupt system, as well as reinstate reforms and measures that would eliminate the abuse of power and minimise the likelihood of cases such as these from recurring,” it said.
C4 Center cited the conclusion of the presiding judge over Rosmah’s case, Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, who stated she used her position to interfere with her husband’s affairs as head of government to influence and secure opportunities for self-enrichment.
“Rosmah was found guilty of soliciting RM187.5 million from former Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin as an inducement for the latter’s company to secure a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid energy project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
“She was also found guilty of two counts of receiving bribes amounting to RM5 million and RM1.5 million from Saidi between April and August 2016. The impoverished state of schools in Sarawak has been further maligned by Rosmah’s greed and desire for power,” it said.
The centre reiterated its longstanding call for the procurement processes and private contracting of large projects to be made transparent and open to scrutiny, as the risk of corruption taking place on such a large scale could have been minimised if checks and balances were put in place.
“These checks and balances include implementing an open tender process, providing public justification for the deliberations as to why only certain entities are chosen for a project or investment, as well as making the accounts publicly accessible.
“The above practices fall in line with the principles outlined in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which Malaysia has ratified, particularly in reference to Article 9 on public procurement and management of finances,” it said.
The convention stresses the need for transparency, the use of objective and predetermined criteria for public procurement, and mechanisms for the personnel involved to declare their interests, among others.
“The recent rulings by the judiciary over powerful personalities involved in high-profile cases and related scandals sends a strong message concerning the need to reform a rotten system. It also signals the advent of a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption that the institutions of many other nations have adopted.
“Our current government seems to have forgotten that Malaysia has a NACP that puts forward reform recommendations, including a Procurement Act, a stronger Whistleblower Protection Act, and a Parliamentary Ombudsman.
“All of the above are necessary to tackle corruption from all sides and most importantly, to prevent offences related to corruption from taking place, to begin with,” said C4 Center.
On August 23, Najib was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and fined RM210 million by the Federal Court in Putrajaya for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
Yesterday (September 1), Rosmah was sentenced by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to a total of 30 years’ jail and a RM970 million fine, in default 10 years’ jail.
However, Rosmah will have to serve only 10 years in jail as Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan ordered for all the jail sentences to run concurrently.
